The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has announced a reduction in electricity costs for homes and small businesses, effective Tuesday. Depending on the pricing plan, people will see a price drop of up to two cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). The price drop is mostly due to changes in the market, says Joel MacDonald, founder of Energyrates.ca, a website that compares energy prices. “The peak demand on the grid is in the summer … generally that’s because of the air conditioners,” MacDonald said. “So it would be typical to see a slightly lower rate during the winter than in the summer.” MacDonald says the drop isn’t significant compared to last winter’s decrease in Ontario, but he points out that other provinces are increasing their rates — for example, Albertans are seeing increases ranging from three cents to 28 cents per kWh. A table shows the new prices per kilowatt-hour for both time-of-use plans and tiered plans. (Ontario Energy Board) Prices for both time-of-use plans and tiered plans will be reduced, according to the province’s electricity and gas regulator. This change will remain in effect until the end of April next year. The time-of-use (TOU) plan announced by the OEB is being scaled back, where customers are charged different amounts based on when they use electricity, generally. Customers using electricity on weekdays during peak hours (7am to 11am and 5pm and 7pm) will now pay 15.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh); percentage lower than last winter’s rate of 17.0 cents per kWh. The average peak rate (weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) dropped from 11.3 cents to 10.2 cents per kWh. The off-peak price (7pm to 7am weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays) also dropped to 7.4 cents from 8.2 cents per kWh. Tiered pricing, where customers pay a flat rate for the first 1,000 kWh during the winter months and a higher rate if they exceed that amount, has also been reduced by just over a cent per kWh. MacDonald says this is a good time for Ontarians to reevaluate whether they want to participate in a TOU or tiered program.
Savings depend on the type of plan
Ontario introduced smart meters in 2005, MacDonald says, which measure not only the amount of electricity used but also the time of day electricity is used. He credits these meters with reducing the amount of electricity Ontarians use since their introduction. However, in the first year of the pandemic, OEB gave residential and small business customers the option to be billed on TOU or tiered plans. MacDonald says tiered designs make the most sense for most customers. Joel MacDonald, founder of energy comparison website EnergyRates.ca, says tiered rate plans will offer more savings for the majority of households. (Submitted by Joel MacDonald) “For the time-of-use scheme to deliver cost savings over the tiered scheme – assuming the average household – you would need to use more than 75 per cent of your usage in the off-peak period.” He says that number is hard to hit because typical homes have baseload consumption due to having various appliances on all the time. With the tiered system charging 8.7 cents per kWh (effective Tuesday), MacDonald says saving is easier as the average household doesn’t exceed the 1,000 kWh limit required to qualify for a higher rate. “We know that the average household uses 750 kWh.” MacDonald says that according to the OEB, the average consumer who uses 60 percent of their electricity during off-peak hours will save eight percent by switching to the tiered system.
Many Ontarians are still struggling with rising costs
Even with some savings on the near horizon, many Ontarians are still unable to pay their electricity bills. “A lot of people are feeling the squeeze right now with the rising prices of everything from groceries to gas,” said Neftali Bonilla of the Neighborhood Information Post, an organization that connects low-income people with supportive services. “So they’re either buying groceries or paying their energy bill,” said Bonilla, who coordinates the agency’s energy assistance program. He says many people, including seniors, young adults and single-parent families, have come to his group asking for help in the form of grant programs. One of these programs, the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), allows people to apply for help if they are behind on their energy bill and receive up to $1,000 to pay it off. Bonilla says they’ve seen huge increases in applicants. “In 2021 we were able to help 411 households for the LEAP program,” he said. “So far this year, from January to September, we’ve helped 873… For the month of October alone, we’re looking at helping probably about 100 households.” But MacDonald says Ontarians will never have to worry about their electricity being shut off during the winter, as there is a disconnection ban between November 15 and April 30. “If you’re struggling with these extremely high bills, know that while it may hurt your credit, you’re not going to sign anything off until April 30.”
title: “If You Live In Ontario You Ll Pay Less For Electricity Effective Today " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Traci Michael”
The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has announced a reduction in electricity costs for homes and small businesses, effective Tuesday. Depending on the pricing plan, people will see a price drop of up to two cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). The price drop is mostly due to changes in the market, says Joel MacDonald, founder of Energyrates.ca, a website that compares energy prices. “The peak demand on the grid is in the summer … generally that’s because of the air conditioners,” MacDonald said. “So it would be typical to see a slightly lower rate during the winter than in the summer.” MacDonald says the drop isn’t significant compared to last winter’s decrease in Ontario, but he points out that other provinces are increasing their rates — for example, Albertans are seeing increases ranging from three cents to 28 cents per kWh. A table shows the new prices per kilowatt-hour for both time-of-use plans and tiered plans. (Ontario Energy Board) Prices for both time-of-use plans and tiered plans will be reduced, according to the province’s electricity and gas regulator. This change will remain in effect until the end of April next year. The time-of-use (TOU) plan announced by the OEB is being scaled back, where customers are charged different amounts based on when they use electricity, generally. Customers using electricity on weekdays during peak hours (7am to 11am and 5pm and 7pm) will now pay 15.1 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh); percentage lower than last winter’s rate of 17.0 cents per kWh. The average peak rate (weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) dropped from 11.3 cents to 10.2 cents per kWh. The off-peak price (7pm to 7am weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays) also dropped to 7.4 cents from 8.2 cents per kWh. Tiered pricing, where customers pay a flat rate for the first 1,000 kWh during the winter months and a higher rate if they exceed that amount, has also been reduced by just over a cent per kWh. However, the Ontario Electricity Rebate, which provides a pre-tax discount on electricity bills, has been reduced to 11.7 per cent from 17.0 per cent. MacDonald says this is a good time for Ontarians to reevaluate whether they want to participate in a TOU or tiered program.
Savings depend on the type of plan
Ontario introduced smart meters in 2005, MacDonald says, which measure not only the amount of electricity used but also the time of day electricity is used. He credits these meters with reducing the amount of electricity Ontarians use since their introduction. However, in the first year of the pandemic, OEB gave residential and small business customers the option to be billed on TOU or tiered plans. MacDonald says tiered designs make the most sense for most customers. Joel MacDonald, founder of energy comparison website EnergyRates.ca, says tiered rate plans will offer more savings for the majority of households. (Submitted by Joel MacDonald) “For the time-of-use scheme to deliver cost savings over the tiered scheme – assuming the average household – you would need to use more than 75 per cent of your usage in the off-peak period.” He says that number is hard to hit because typical homes have baseload consumption due to having various appliances on all the time. With the tiered system charging 8.7 cents per kWh (effective Tuesday), MacDonald says saving is easier as the average household doesn’t exceed the 1,000 kWh limit required to qualify for a higher rate. “We know that the average household uses 750 kWh.” MacDonald says that according to the OEB, the average consumer who uses 60 percent of their electricity during off-peak hours will save eight percent by switching to the tiered system.
Many Ontarians are still struggling with rising costs
Even with some savings on the near horizon, many Ontarians are still unable to pay their electricity bills. “A lot of people are feeling the squeeze right now with the rising prices of everything from groceries to gas,” said Neftali Bonilla of the Neighborhood Information Post, an organization that connects low-income people with supportive services. “So they’re either buying groceries or paying their energy bill,” said Bonilla, who coordinates the agency’s energy assistance program. He says many people, including seniors, young adults and single-parent families, have come to his group asking for help in the form of grant programs. One of these programs, the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), allows people to apply for help if they are behind on their energy bill and receive up to $1,000 to pay it off. Bonilla says they’ve seen huge increases in applicants. “In 2021 we were able to help 411 households for the LEAP program,” he said. “So far this year, from January to September, we’ve helped 873… For the month of October alone, we’re looking at helping probably about 100 households.” But MacDonald says Ontarians will never have to worry about their electricity being shut off during the winter, as there is a disconnection ban between November 15 and April 30. “If you’re struggling with these extremely high bills, know that while it may hurt your credit, you’re not going to sign anything off until April 30.”
